


A Cloak Made Of Ice

by The_Risen_Phoenix



Category: Final Fantasy Type-0
Genre: M/M, Sacrifice, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-05-29
Packaged: 2019-05-15 12:33:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14790605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Risen_Phoenix/pseuds/The_Risen_Phoenix
Summary: A cloak made of ice, formed by mortal hands and in exchange one precious soul will be returned.Loosely based upon the fairy tale 'The Six Swans'





	A Cloak Made Of Ice

 

As the dust settled after the Verboten Eidolon Alexander returned to the earth, the Goddess of Ice Shiva surveyed the scene before her with dismay. Upon his knees he knelt, hand still raised in supplication towards to sky, phantoma spent; body having no reason left to live now that the soul had gone. Kurasame, the child that she had gifted her blessings of ice, eyes blank and staring, body falling to the side to find it's final resting place.

 

“NO!” She screamed out to the heavens. The skies darkening, dark clouds forming out of nowhere, the temperature dropping low enough to cause many of the remaining soldiers to shiver. Both out of cold and of fear.

 

Shiva appeared from the darkened skies in a flurry of ice and snow and landed gently beside the fallen man. Sparing not a glance for the bodies of the others, she knelt beside Kurasame holding out one ice blue hand above his lifeless form.

 

' _I will not allow this child,_ my child _, to die like this!'_ Shiva thought furiously as she motioned her hand over the body, ice falling to encase Kurasame. _'Alexander if you can hear me, you_ will _return his soul to him at once!'_

 

' _Sister, Shiva, you know that I can not return what was offered freely. Not without a price being paid in return.'_ Alexander's loud gravelly voice echoed within her head.

 

' _Whatever the price I shall pay it!'_ Shiva called out. ' _He is mine! I chose him for my blessing and this is not the way that his life shall end! As a scapegoat of the military!'_

 

 _'Sister, the price can not be paid by you. You know this.'_ The sigh in her mind from her brother sounded weary. Shiva felt a moment of compassion, as using their powers to create the eidolons summoned took a great amount of their strength.

 

 _'As he passed, the last thought that was in his mind was of this boy.'_ An image of a young blond boy, with the clearest blue eyes and most beautiful smile appeared within Shiva's mind. ' _If you can convince this boy to craft a cloak made of the ice shards from ice bombs and ice flans big enough to cover your child then I shall return his soul to you.'_

 

 _'Yes, it shall be done!'_ Shiva would do anything in her power to get this boy to fashion the cloak for her child.

 

' _'Ware sister,'_ Alexander cautioned. ' _The boy must not speak to any during this time, no tell of this task, must use only his hands to weave together this cloth, not even gloves are allowed. And most importantly, within three months this task must be completed and the cloak laid over the body.'_

 

Shiva nodded in understanding. The task was difficult, but not impossible and she would do what she could to aid the boy in completing it. As though reading her mind, Alexander continued.

 

_'Shiva, you know that you must not interfere with this task. If you do then the boy's work will be for nothing. We are not allowed to meddle in the affairs of mortals. This is all I am able to offer, and only because this man had been claimed by you.'_

 

_'Thank you brother, you have offered me more than I could have hoped for.'_

 

Shiva gracefully rose to her feet, gesturing towards the body encased in ice to float gently by her side, and headed towards the nearby Bethnel Caverns. Walking through the many rooms, she walked towards the room at the very back. Inside the cavern was wide and the ceiling was high, rock formations formed a protected semi-circle of space where Shiva created a bed of ice and laid the body on the top.

 

“Rest my child, I shall find the one that will restore you to life. I refuse to accept the possibility that this is your end.” Laying a chaste kiss upon Kurasame's brow, Shiva left the room casting a barrier over the doorway to prevent monsters and scavengers from entering.

 

As she passed through each room, Shiva summoned fierce beasts to protect her child from harm. The behemoth king, she summoned at the entrance to the cavern holding Kurasame's body. In the other rooms she summoned multiple weaker behemoths to guard. She gave not a thought to the poor boy who would have to fight his way through, to lay the cloak of ice over his commander.

 

Exiting the caverns, Shiva noticed soldiers along the cliffs taking away the bodies of the fallen. For the first time she noticed the crystallised form of the former Vermilion Bird l'Cie Caetuna. Many of the soldiers turned and stared at the sight of her coming from within the caverns, some even asking “Why is the Eidolon Shiva here?” but to these insignificant people she paid no attention. Walking towards the place where her child had fallen, Shiva lowered herself into a meditative position to try to make contact with the boy from her vision.

 

Scanning all through her memories, and those that she had gathered from Kurasame, she managed to discover that they boy was one of Kurasame's subordinates named Ace. And if the information that she had managed to gather was correct, he would currently be out on the field now fighting with his classmates. Knowing that there was no time to waste, Shiva closed her eyes and called out in her mind to the boy.

 

 

 

Across the battlefield, a group of three cadets from class zero had just made it to one of the few camps that the Dominion still had control over, when one of them stumbled and fell to the ground unconscious.

 

“Ace!” Seven and Nine called out in alarm. Their frantic calls attracted the attention of their other classmates, who rushed over to help them bring him to a medical stretcher.

 

“What happened?” Deuce asked, trying to cast a cure on Ace. Each time she cast, the cure would fail as there was nothing to heal.

 

“I don't know hey!” Nine freaked out. “He just collapsed outta tha blue yo!”

 

Seven nodded in agreement. “There was no reason for it. None of us were injured or hit with anything in our skirmishes. I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens.”

 

They looked down at the pale faced boy, his eyes were darting quickly behind his lids as though he were dreaming, body tense ready for a fight. His breathing and heart rate were fine though, so they decided to take shifts to watch over him as the fight continued around them.

 

 

 

' _Er what in the world happened?'_ Ace wondered as he found himself in a familiar landscape, though this time it was covered in snow and ice. _'Where am I?'_

 

“Child of Light I welcome you _”_ Ace spun around startled. Before him sat a most beautiful lady. Hair deep blue waved in the air as though a gust of cool air were blowing, skin a pale ice blue and eyes sharp as diamonds. Draped in cloth that mimicked ice in appearance and jewels of finest gold adorned her body.

 

“I apologise for calling out to you so harshly, I fear that could not unfortunately remain conscious, and that you may have worried your classmates.”

 

“I...that is fine my Lady. To what do I owe the honour of your call?” Ace asked with a slight bow.

 

“Child.....Ace I have a great task that I must ask of you if you are willing. No do not give me your consent without knowing the task child, but hear what is asked of you and do not blindly acquiesce because you feel that it is expected of you.”

 

Ace closed the mouth that he had opened to agree, and nodded to show his understanding. Shiva turned, looking towards the horizon, snow gently falling on the ground, but never on either of the occupants of the space.

 

“Not two hours ago, your Commanding officer Kurasame along with many others, sacrificed himself to summon the Verboten Eidolon Alexander to assure victory for Rubrum. As of two hours ago, Kurasame died.”

 

Ace could not help but interrupt at this point. “But I still remember him! I mean I think I do?” His voice became less sure as he spoke. “I remember who he is, but I can not remember anything about him...”

 

“That child is because at this moment he wanders between life and death. He is not alive, but neither is he dead yet. I have forged and agreement with Alexander so that he might be restored to life, but it shall require a sacrifice.”

 

Shiva turned once more towards Ace. “This is where you come in.”

 

“You wish for me to sacrifice my life for his?” Ace asked voice trembling. Shiva reached out towards to trembling boy immediately, sorrow painting her features.

 

“No of course not child. I would not ask of you to give your life so that I might keep my chosen alive. I do not believe that Kurasame would wish for that either.” Still trembling, Ace shakily nodded in relief.

 

“What I ask of you is no easy task. From the ice shards and spikes dropped from bombs and flans, you will need to weave together a cloak large enough to cover Kurasame. You shall have no help from the use of tools or others, not even gloves to protect your hands from pain. You must not speak a word in the time that you take to make the cloak, and never is anyone else to know your task. You shall have naught but three months to complete your task or his soul will not be returned to him.”

 

Thoughts were flying around Ace's mind. Could he achieve such a task? Was it possible? Did he want to? This last thought made him pause. Did he want to? He wasn't very close to his commanding officer, they shared some free time together occasionally and had trained together on occasion. But did that really warrant such self sacrifice from him?

 

Ace did not know what to think at this moment. But was that not why they were fighting right now? To save and protect as many people as they could? Wouldn't it be worth just three short months to endure, just to make sure that one more person survived in this world? By this point, Ace had made his decision. There was just a couple more things that he wanted to know before he gave his agreement.

 

“Will I continue to remember him as the time passes?” He asked. It would not be good if he did not remember to make the cloak because he could not remember the man that he was making it for.

 

“Yes” replied Shiva. “You shall retain your memories of him. But unlike the others, you will not start to forget the closer it comes to the deadline of this task.”

 

“And why me?” Ace asked confused. “Why was I chosen?”

 

“You Ace were chosen as Alexander found that the last though that Kurasame had as he passed was of you. I did not ask what thoughts of you he had, but whatever the thoughts or emotions that he was feeling, were enough that you were chosen as the one that could return him to life.”

 

“Why was Kurasame offered this chance at life and not the many others that have died?” Ace asked.

 

“He is my chosen. In his youth I gave him my blessing and gifted him with my power. No child of mine shall ever fall at the hands of another God.”

 

“Your blessing?” Ace asked slowly. “You're Shiva? Goddess of Ice?”

 

“Yes child, and to you I offer you this blessing.” Shiva laid a cold kiss upon Ace's brow. A feeling of ice spreading throughout his body, but disappeared as quickly as it came.

 

“I dare not do more, as I we are not allowed to interfere in your task. I have given you a slight defence against the cold so as to help you endure your task. I wish you luck Ace, I have placed his body in the Bethnel Caverns and protected him. So please I beg of you to do your best as always, and know that regardless if you are able to finish or not you have my thanks for trying.”

 

With a final flurry of snow, and a gentle wave of her fingers, Shiva disappeared leaving Ace alone in the cold dark realm of dreams.

 

 

 

Jerking awake with a start, Ace was immediately surrounded by his concerned classmates all asking him if he was ok. Opening his mouth to respond, Ace suddenly remembered that he was no longer allowed to speak until his task was complete.

 

Shaking his head and pointing at his throat, Ace tried to indicate that he was currently unable to speak.

 

“Oh!” Exclaimed Deuce. “You lost your voice?” It was a close enough explanation so Ace nodded. “Are you ok then? What happened?” Deuce continued. Nodding again to the first question, Ace could only shrug his shoulders when asked the second. He wasn't sure he could explain what had happened even if he had been able to.

 

“Well we're glad you're ok then. We could definitely use some help in these fights. There are bombs everywhere!”

 

Ace perked up at the mention of the bombs, using his hands to spell out 'ice?'.

 

Deuce nodded. “All types, but there have been a lot of ice bombs along the pathways.”

 

Ace rose slowly from the stretcher and indicated that he would like to go along on the skirmishes that involved the ice bombs. A bit confused as to his insistence, Deuce nodded over towards Cinque and Eight who were about to head off.

 

“Oh hey Ace!” Eight called out. “Good to see you up and about. You joining us to explode some bombs?” Ace threw two thumbs up at him, confusing Eight. “Er, ok buddy. Well let's go.”

 

The trio headed down the nearest path and immediately they were attacked by five ice bombs and a dracoknight. The fight ended quickly with them managing to fell the enemies easily, and Ace quickly ran over to the bomb carcass' and stripped off his gloves so that he could pull the icy shards out.

 

Cinque threw a confused look towards Eight. Just what in the world was Ace doing? They didn't need ice shards for anything at the moment, and they had sure never tried pulling them with their bare hands. Why had he even taken his gloves off in the first place?

 

“Ace, we don't need any shards right now...” Cinque started to say, but Ace merely waved a hand at her and continued to tug the shards free. In the end he managed to gather ten shards to begin his cloak. Placing the precious materials in his bag, Ace rubbed his sore, red hands together as he quickly pulled his gloves back over his freezing fingers.

 

“Well, let's get going then” Eight decided. He wondered if maybe Ace had been hit with a confusion spell or something. He would have to ask Deuce when they made it back to camp.

 

By the time they returned to camp, Ace had managed to collect 10 ice shards. His hands however were red and sore and were already showing the first signs of frostbite. Deuce tutted at him as she cast a cure over them and healed them.

 

Eight and Cinque pulled Deuce aside after she had finished healing Ace, and questioned her about his state of mind. They mentioned how Ace had begun to collect ice shards barehanded, and how he would not speak a word to any of them. The siblings were worried about him, but there was nothing that they could think of to do, except to keep an eye on him.

 

Once the mission was finished, Class Zero returned to Akademeia where they discovered that Rubrum had won the fight on both fronts. They heard that Caetuna had crystallised having fulfilled her focus as l'Cie, and that their CO was missing. Without a body, but still having memories of the man, no one was sure what to think. Only Ace seemed unsurprised at this news, something that Seven took notice of.

 

Over the next several weeks Seven noticed a gradual decline in Ace's health. The younger boy was constantly seeking out missions to cold, frosty areas; returning with frostbitten fingers and blue lips. She had noticed how he no longer slept, the light in his room on late into the night, and he was missing more and more meals. Ace was losing weight rapidly, though he offered no reasons or excuses for his sudden behaviour, in fact he had not spoken since he had fallen unconscious that time.

 

Ace had spent the last month going out on missions to collect ice shards for the cloak, sometimes on his own and others his siblings would accompany him. He found that he tried to go on his own more and more recently, as the looks and questions that the others kept asking were difficult to deal with. As he sat in his room late at night weaving together the shards, Ace felt despair nearly overwhelm him as he realised that the cloak was only big enough to cover Kurasame's chest. He only had two more months to complete his task.

 

Exiting his room to once again find another mission, Ace found his arm suddenly grabbed as he was dragged down the hallway. Blinking rapidly Ace looked at the hand gripping him and followed it up to the person it belonged to. Seven was turned away from him, but what little he could see of her face showed him that she was not happy. Too tired to resist, Ace let himself be dragged and pushed down into a seat in the cafeteria.

 

“Sit” Seven ordered. “Stay.” Ace rankled a little at being spoken to like a dog, but he understood that Seven was just worried about him.

 

“You are going to sit there and eat what I get for you. Don't think I haven't noticed how much weight you've lost recently.”

 

Ace cast a surprised look down at himself startled. He had not realised that he had recently started to look like a walking skeleton. He smiled sheepishly at Seven and huffing an exasperated sigh she left to find him the first proper meal that he had had in weeks.

 

“Look Ace I don't know what is going on with you lately but I know that you are suffering for it” Seven began as she watched Ace eat with an eagle eye. She glared at him when he stopped chewing, trying to think up an excuse to give her. “No don't lie. You have been collecting shards like crazy, missing meals and forgoing sleep. I am worried about you, but I will not stop you. I have a feeling that whatever it is that you are doing is important to you.”

 

Ace nodded in affirmation. His task had been given to him by a Goddess, and by his actions he could save the life of a man.

 

“All I ask is that you take better care of yourself. You will not be any use if you pass out because you have not eaten or slept.” Seven pleaded with him. “And please do not go out on your own anymore, we will stop questioning you, but please do not leave alone again.”

 

Ace could feel the desperation of Seven's words hit him. He had not meant to worry his siblings. He had been so focused that all other thoughts had simply not even crossed his mind.

 

After that, Ace never left Akademeia again without at least one of his classmates following him. He spent the next month and a half relentlessly collecting shards and weaving at night when he returned. His hands were cracked and red, blood oozing from the splits in his skin. Shiva's blessing had protected him thus far, but it could not withstand the sheer amount of ice that he was handling day in and day out.

 

He silently accepted the healing and bandages the others placed upon him, but he did not falter in his determination. With just 2 days left until his deadline, Ace wove the final shards into the cloak. Standing, he shook the large ice cover cloak out measuring the size to make sure it was big enough. Satisfied that it was the correct size, Ace left his room carrying the cloak over his arm. Peeking into Nine's room, he asked with his eyes for him to accompany him on his next foray. Once Nine had agreed, Ace went to find Seven to come with them also.

 

Gathering chocobos and supplies, the trio rode their chocobos hard towards the Meroe region. They had to camp overnight in the woods, much to Ace's dismay. At first light, he shook the other two awake and shoved some bread at them for breakfast. As they rode, Nine made an observation.

 

“Hey Ace,” he called out. “Didn't we use to have a Commanding Officer who used a lot of ice magic?” Nine cast his gaze towards the cloak made of ice that Ace clutched to his chest protectively.

 

Ace turned towards Nine, a small secretive smile on his face.

 

“Yeah,” Seven chimed in. “Wasn't he known as one of the champions of Rubrum? I think he was called the Ice Reaper.” She too turned to look towards Ace. “Does that mean that you made that for him?” She gestured towards the icy garment.

 

With not a word, but a spark in his eye, Ace lifted a finger to his lips signalling that he would not speak a word to confirm or deny. Eventually, they made it to the Meroe region, and Ace directed them towards the Bethnel Caverns.

 

Dismounting their chocobos, the trio entered cautiously. Inside the first room, they came across a cadet and what appeared to be her boyfriend whom had been turned into a toad. She warned them that the caverns were filled with behemoths and encouraged them not to venture any further forwards unless it was absolutely necessary.

 

“Thanks for the warning yo,” Nine answered. “But we can handle a few measly behemoths. We're from Class Zero hey!”

 

Casting a dubious look at the three, the girl was not sure if the smaller blonde boy would be able to make it through. He looked pale and wan, his skin stretched tight over his bones, eyes sunken into their sockets. It appeared as though he had not eaten nor slept in months, that his life was slowly draining out of him as he stood there. It was however his face that showed the most determination. If nothing else the girl believed that he would will himself to make it to the end of the cavern.

 

Thanking the girl again, the three entered the next room, immediately beset by two large behemoths. Falling into a fighting stance, Ace threw the icy cloak over his own shoulders so that his hands were free to attack with his cards. Nine and Seven both rushed in towards the enemies as Ace hung back and provided a ranged assault, occasionally casting a cure at his classmates when needed.

 

The combination of ranged and melee assaults, soon left their enemies defeated. Ace was terrified however of the time that it had taken, and was scared that there would be even more to fight further in. He was not sure how long he had left to lay the cloak over the body, but he was sure that by now he only had hours left, if that. The next room there were three behemoths, and Ace wanted to scream out in frustration.

 

Sensing his rising panic, Seven called out to him. “Go Ace! We'll be fine here, get to the end and finish your task!”

 

Nine yelled out his agreement, “These guys are a piece of cake for fighters like us yo. Go do what you have to and we'll meet you there.”

 

Throwing a quick, thankful smile over his shoulder at his siblings, Ace ran as fast as he could towards the cavern's end. Dodging past another two behemoths in the next room, Ace skidded to a halt before nearly running into the King behemoth guarding the room. Trying to sneak past, Ace discovered that there was a magical barrier over the entrance to the final room, and nothing he tried was dispelling it.

 

With a sense of dread, Ace turned towards the single enemy in the room with him. It would seem that he would have to defeat it to be able to pass. Realising that there was no time to waste, Ace launched his attack on the King. Cards flying out of his hands rapidly, streams of fire and ice flowing from his hands as he ran and dodged the beast's charges.

 

The longer Ace continued to fight though, the more he had trouble focusing. The months of bodily neglect finally catching up with him. As he cast a fire spell towards the King, the edges of his vision started to turn grey. As such he did not notice when the King had gotten close enough to swing his barbed tail into him. Flying across the room, Ace panted as he tried to pick himself up off of the ground.

 

' _I can not fall here! I will_ not _fail my task!'_ Using the last reserves of his strength, Ace cast a cure upon himself and fired a Jackpot Triad at the huge beast. Howling in pain as the lasers made contact with it, the King behemoth tried yet again to charge towards Ace. Rolling out of the line of fine, Ace quickly sent a flurry of exploding cards towards the beast. Staggering, the behemoth roared out in anger as Ace continued to send card after card towards it, never letting up. With a final blast of fire, the beast finally collapsed and the magical barrier disappeared.

 

Rising a hand to remove the ice cloak from his shoulders, Ace panicked when he could not feel it. Feverishly casting his eyes around the room, he spotted the cloak on the ground where he had taken the hit from the behemoth's tail. Stumbling over to it, Ace gently picked it up and examined it to make sure that it was still intact. After finding it in one piece, Ace felt a sudden sense of time running out.

 

Running as fast as his exhausted body could, Ace made his way into the final room where Kurasame's body rested on it's bedof ice. Pausing briefly as he caught his first sight of the man in months, Ace hurried forward and threw the cloak made of ice shards over the man.

 

Nothing happened.

 

There was no magical glow signifying the return of the man's soul, there were no flashes of light or sounds of triumph. Not a single breath passed through the frozen man's lips, his heart remained still and silent.

 

With a cry of anguish, Ace fell to his knees beside the icy coffin. A great booming voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

 

' _Child, you are too late. The time given for the return of this man's soul has passed.'_

 

“No! No no no no nononono, please I beg of you, whoever you are to please reconsider! I have done as you asked, I have sacrificed much, and I beg of you to return this man's soul.”

 

Ace did not care how his voice cracked with emotion as he pleaded with the God, he did not care that tears ran down his cheeks to fall upon the man below him.

 

_'You have sacrificed much it is true, but are you willing to sacrifice more? The terms of this task were set, and I can not change them. But if you were to take his place, then I would grant your wish and return him to life.'_

 

“Anything. I would sacrifice anything for this man.” Ace's voice shook as he offered his soul to the God in exchange for Kurasame's.

 

Over the last few months alone with only his task and his thoughts, Ace had thought about the man that he was saving constantly. He thought about their interactions, how Kurasame was always kind to him and helped him if he needed it. And most of all, he thought about how he was the last thought on Kurasame's mind when he died. The realisation that he liked the man did not come as much of a surprise as Ace thought that it would, but he knew that had he lived that they had perhaps been heading towards becoming more than just Commanding Officer and subordinate.

 

' _Then prepare yourself child!'_ The voice commanded.

 

Ace felt like the earth was coming up around him, wrapping him in it's embrace. His lungs could no longer draw breath as more and more earth surrounded him. His vision started to grey again as the blanket of earth started to pull him underneath the ground, but before he disappeared completely he saw Seven and Nine run into the room before a sudden flash of light blinded him and he was gone.

 

“ACE!” Nine and Seven screamed out as they saw their brother pulled down under the earth.

 

Seven threw herself down on the ground where Ace had disappeared, hoping that there was a way to retrieve him. Tears fell from her eyes as hard smooth earth met her searching hands, no way to break the surface to even attempt digging.

 

The sound of pained coughing caught their attention and they both turned towards the bed of ice. The crystallised ice that had surrounded the man had melted away, leaving him covered only by the cloak that Ace had made. With a groan of effort, Kurasame sat up looking confusedly at his surroundings and at the cloak made of ice that was draped over his form.

 

“What? Where am I?” He questioned. Seven shook her head sadly as she tried to wipe away the tears staining her face.

 

“You died yo.” Nine stated bluntly. He felt numb. Ace had disappeared, and there was no body to take home and home that Mother could revive him. There was no chance of laying a phoenix down upon him to bring him back to life. He was just.......gone.

 

“Then how am I alive? And what is this cloak on me?” Kurasame wanted answers. There was a heavy feeling in his heart as though he had lost something precious before he even realised that it had been his.

 

Seven and Nine simply shook their heads as they did not know how or why everything had happened.

 

“Ace made that” Nine said pointing towards the cloak. “Every day he would hunt down the monsters and collect their shards with his bare hands. He spent months not eating or sleeping to weave that, and then raced here to lay it upon you. But something must have gone wrong and I don't know how or what happened.”

 

' _I can answer your questions'_ A voice that sounded like the tinkling of ice filled the room.

 

_'After Alexander was summoned, you Kurasame lost your life. As your patron Goddess I could not accept your death and so entered into an agreement with Alexander to revive you. I myself was not permitted to perform such a sacrifice myself, but as your thoughts regarding Ace were so strong when you passed, Alexander decided that he would allow Ace to be the one to carry out the task.'_

 

Shiva appeared before them, a look of deep sorrow painting her face.

 

_'His task was to weave by a hand a cloak made of ice shards big enough to cover his commander. He was not permitted to speak and to never let anyone know of this task. He was given the time of three months to complete his task. It is because of the protections that I left upon this cavern that Ace failed in his task, and for that I beg your forgiveness. He covered you with the cloak mere minutes after his time allowed.'_

 

Kurasame's heart ached. To think that the boy had sacrificed so much just to retrieve his soul.....He had not even thought that Ace would remember him. His feelings for the cadet had started the day that they met at sword point, and from that moment on they had continued to grow. Never had he imagined that Ace might return his feelings though, so he had left without saying a word to him, knowing that in all likelihood that this mission would be his last.

 

“Where is Ace then?” Seven wailed anew as Kurasame asked the question.

 

_'With the task failed, Alexander offered to allow Ace to trade his soul for yours. Once he accepted the offer, he was taken into the ground as is Alexander's right and your soul was released.'_

 

 _'NO_ ' Kurasame's mind screamed. ' _He could not have done something so foolish! To give his life to save a dead man!'_

 

 _'You have my most sincere condolences mortals'_ Shiva intoned. _'I shall return you to your place of dwelling, to easy your travels and so that you might inform the others and mourn.'_

 

“Wait!” Kurasame yelled out as with a bright flash of light the three appeared outside the gates to Akademeia.

 

Their sudden appearance caused panic to spread throughout the entry way and courtyard, especially as they saw that one of the people there was Kurasame whom they had all thought dead. Many cadets and even those from the consortium crowded around him, as they walked into the school, but he merely brushed them off. With a quick look of shared sorrow towards Seven and Nine, Kurasame brushed off all others and made his way towards his room.

 

Stripping off his clothes quickly, Kurasame clutched onto the cloak that Ace had made him. He laid upon his bed, pulling it around him and inhaling the faint scent that he had left behind. Tears dripped down onto the cloak, soaking in to the icy shards as sleep once more claimed the man.

 

Falling, he was falling into the darkness. There was no up or down, no sense of right or wrong. There was simply nothingness. It was cloying and suffocating, and Ace wondered if this is what death was like. Would this be his new eternity? A choking darkness filled with naught but emptiness? Scared and alone, Ace huddled into himself.

 

 _'Child'_ Wait, Ace knew that voice. That was the voice that had asked for him to give up his life in exchange for Kurasame's.

 

_'Is this what you wish for? How you want to spend to rest of eternity?'_

 

Cruel. The voice was so cruel. Of course this was not how he wanted to spend eternity. But if it meant that Kurasame was able to live out the rest of his life, then he would accept anything even eternal darkness.

 

_'If it means that the man I saved can live his life as he wishes, the yes this is what I choose.'_

 

A rumbling sound of approval came from the voice.

 

_'The willingness to sacrifice is sometimes the only thing that is needed.'_

 

Ace was confused. Did that mean that he hadn't had to die at all? Why was the voice taunting with this knowledge now?

 

 _'As such Ace'_ the voice spoke his name for the first time, _'I forfeit your soul and return it to you. I shall return you to life and all shall be as it was meant to be.'_

 

Ace panicked. No, he didn't want Kurasame to die again. Did not want to have to go through the pain yet again of losing the man when he had just brought him back to life.

 

_'Rest easy Ace, I will not take back the soul that you have saved either. Your willingness to sacrifice so much for another has proven to me that you are a much needed light in this bleak world. Go back and spread your light child of dawn. And as a God I feel that it is my duty to tell you that your feelings are returned and that you should not hesitate to show them.'_

 

Ace flushed a brilliant bright red at the last statement. He didn't even want to know how the God knew that. But before he could splutter out an answer, he was engulfed in an orb of blinding white light before suddenly the feeling of falling was back.

 

This time however his descent ended abruptly as he landed on something quite solid and cold that made an ' _Oof'_ sound. Opening the eyes that he hadn't realised he had closed, Ace found himself lying on top of his Commanding Officer. Scrambling upright, Ace ended up half straddled over the other man's lap before Kurasame's hands stopped him from fleeing.

 

“Ace?” Kurasame's voice was filled with disbelief. “How?”

 

“Yeah, yeah I'm back” Ace answered hesitantly. “Not really sure I understood why I'm back, but something about intent and sacrifices and lights. He wasn't really the type to go into depth about stuff.”

 

Rising a tentative hand towards Ace's face, Kurasame could not believe what he was hearing.

 

“You made me this cloak” he lifted the edge of the cloak Ace was now sitting on. “You sacrificed your life for mine. You came back to me.”

 

“I did it all for you Kurasame. If you couldn't tell, I kind of like you, you know?” Ace sent a shy smile towards the older man.

 

Breath stilling in his lungs, Kurasame lent forward and laid the sweetest, gentlest kiss upon Ace's lips. “I kind of like you too” he breathed out, leaning in to once again steal another kiss.

 

Life was changing rapidly, and even without Gods and Goddess' interfering, many trials were waiting for them just beyond the horizon. Ace's siblings still thought him dead, though later they would come to realise that they could still remember him and wonder. Ace knew that he should go and reassure them, but for now he was going to stay locked within the arms of Kurasame. The man that he had sacrificed everything for, all for love.

 


End file.
